By David Pugliese
The Royal Canadian Air Force will keep its CF-18 fighter jets flying until around 2032. But how will they do it? Brig.-Gen. Todd Balfe, the RCAF’s Fighter Capability Special Advisor, recently talked to Esprit de Corps’ David Pugliese about how that project will unfold.
The Hornet Extension Project or HEP will be divided into two phases, Balfe noted. Phase 1 will provide interoperability and regulatory upgrades to enable the fighter aircraft to remain compliant with changing civilian aviation regulations and also to remain interoperable with Canada’s allies, in particular the U.S., said Balfe. Phase 2 is looking at addressing combat capability upgrades.
Canada’s existing 76 CF-18s plus the 18 interim F-18s that were purchased from Australia will all go through Phase 1. “That’s looking at things like new GPS navigation systems; a new transponder; a new interrogator, which allows us to do the identification, friend or foe, new radios for satellite communication; upgrade some of our mission computers and our data transfer units, upgrading the helmets, some modifications to the targeting pod to make it even more effective, and then of course all the simulator enhancements that have to go with that to support it,” explained Balfe.
Balfe, a CF-18 pilot, noted that over the years the CF-18s have received a number of upgrades to keep the aircraft relevant. Those have included jam-proof radios, Link 16 and related equipment, precision-guided munitions, and Identification, Friend or Foe (IFF) interrogators.
Portions of Phase 1 will be started as early as 2021. “A lot of these components are reasonably straightforward to change,” Balfe explained. “One black box out, another black box in. Some are a little more complex. So, it’s going to happen over multiple series of modifications to the aircraft.”
Initial operating capability for Phase 1 is expected in 2022. Full operating capability for both Phase 1 and Phase 2 is expected in 2025.
Only a select number of CF-18s will receive the Phase 2 enhancements because the RCAF is expecting to take possession of the first of the next generation fighter aircraft starting as early as 2025. “When we looked at (Phase 2), we were very conscious of the return on investment,” explained Balfe. “For example, we’re going to have 94 aircraft here fairly soon when we introduce the Australian aircraft. We’ll put those 94 aircraft through HEP Phase 1, but we will certainly not do 94 aircraft, not even close to it, to get to HEP Phase 2. (HEP Phase 2) is to give us sufficient combat capability to achieve operational parity against current threats to bridge to the future fighter aircraft.”
“To do the upgrade, for example, and only get one or two years of service out them makes no sense for the taxpayers’ dollars or for our use of DND’s budget dollars,” Balfe added. “So therefore, it’s a limited number of aircraft. That give us two squadrons with a capability, which is what we feel we need as we do the transition to the future fighter.”
As the future fighter aircraft are brought on line, the legacy CF-18 aircraft will be removed. The limited number of CF-18s which will go through HEP Phase 2 modernization will give the RCAF the bridge it needs to continue meeting NORAD and NATO commitments while new aircraft are introduced.
Balfe said final costing for the two phases is still being worked out. But it is expected that Phase 1 will cost between $250 million and $499 million. Phase 2 is estimated to cost between $500 million and $1 billion.
Balfe said that total maximum cost of $1.5 billion, in terms of keeping the aircraft operational out until 2032, was seen by the government and military leadership as “an efficient and a wise and a necessary use of resources.”
For Phase 2, Canada looked to its allies, particularly the U.S., for what those nations had done to improve the combat capability of the F-18. As a result, for Phase 2 Canada will modernize the aircraft’s primary sensor, its radar, examine buying advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, as well as improving the survivability of the aircraft in terms of self-defence systems. The fourth area for Phase 2 that needs to be dealt with involves mission support and security, said Balfe. “In other words, some of those advanced weapons go to a higher security level than we’re currently operating at and therefore, we have to bring in place measures to be able to mission plan and operate at those higher security levels,” he explained.
A number of advancements have been made on air-to-air weapons. For instance, the U.S. Air Force is in the midst of developing the AIM-260 Joint Air Tactical Missile. That weapon is expected to have more range and capability than the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile used by the U.S., Canada and other nations. The USAF is hoping to field the new missile in 2022.
On the air-to-ground side, Balfe said the RCAF could be looking at low collateral damage weapons with a standoff capability, which in turn, would increase aircraft survivability.
Can weapons purchased for Phase 2 be used on the future fighter?
Balfe said the RCAF has looked at that issue. “We did do a quick analysis of the platforms, and the majority of these weapons would flow across to all four of the competitors,” he explained. “Not all would, however, because those four aircraft don’t all carry the same weapons, aren’t all authorized for the same weapons. But I can tell you that the majority of the weapons would flow across.”
Such a cross-over would bring significant benefits, according to Balfe. “It’s not just the cost of the actual weapon. It’s the cost to the training of the individuals to maintain, load and employ those weapons. We almost see it as an investment in the future fighter, because those ground crews and air crews are going to be trained on a weapon that’s much more advanced than we have right now but yet is going be on the future fighter.”
UPDATE ON CANADA’S INTERIM FIGHTER JETS
The first two of the interim F-18s purchased from Australia entered operational service on June 28. The remaining 16 will arrive over the next 18 months, says Brig.-Gen. Balfe. The Australian aircraft are receiving modifications to bring them in line with the configuration of the RCAF’s CF-18s. New ejection seats are being installed as Australia uses a different seat than Canada. In addition, the operational flight program is being changed to the one used by Canada. The night vision imaging system is also being changed, said Balfe.
The other key modification is to install the targeting pods being used by the RCAF. Canada uses the Lockheed Martin Sniper Targeting Pod. Australia used the Northrop Grumman LITENING Targeting Pod. “We had to transition our aircraft to support our pod,” Balfe said.
